A Parade of Indignities

Chapter 12: Of Residual Doubts and The Realm of Possibility

Chapter art created and owned by youngmoviemaker.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The machines in the medical bay bleated away rhythmically and the dim lighting of Zim's countless monitors cast shadows that stretched across the room, touching down upon its occupants in a sickly blue light. Dib lost track of time as he hunkered down in the little room, sitting beside Zim. Continually, the latter would break into oscillating shivers but otherwise remained asleep as the hours passed them by.

Surely it must have been hours, if not a full day. It was as though time had stood still, though, deep in the bowels of the base. Not even the slightest inkling of sunshine nor moonlight could gleam through, and Dib couldn't be certain whether it was night or day.

Just as static was the scene within the med bay, where every movement was trapped within its own delicate cadence. Zim's shaking and shallow breathing mingled with the constant beeping of the charging cell, which still occasionally dropped connection with the PAK and shifted into that same blaring alarm.

Dib could have done any number of things, he supposed, but instead, he spent a perturbing amount of time simply staring at the other end of the room and allowing his thoughts to eat him alive. He had put his talent of overanalyzing to good use, pondering every little detail that had transpired. His prior confliction of whether to even help Zim, however, was a mere afterthought compared to his current state of mind. This time, his thoughts held a peculiar emphasis geared towards how to help him.

All the while, the idea of exploiting Zim was nonexistent. Not once during that period of time did it even cross Dib's mind to wander the base again or use any of Zim's current disadvantages to his own benefit. At this point, he was far too busy feeling trapped within his own emotional limbo, consumed with pessimistic speculations about the Irken's condition and fear of the unknown.

When he last checked, Zim looked to be showing more signs of life, but these things did little to reassure him.

A slight flush had crept across Zim's face over the last hour or so, and when Dib reluctantly brushed a hand over his forehead, he was burning to the touch with fever. Despite being wrapped thoroughly in blankets, he still shivered violently.

What would happen if and when Zim woke up? How could he even begin to understand Dib's motives when he was presumably clueless to what had happened to him? Did he even know he had been poisoned? Or was he so immersed in denial that he couldn't grasp that his life was in very grave danger?

Dib looked down as his shoes dejectedly.

How had I gotten into this?

What a stupid question. He knew the answer. He had dedicated his entire life to learning everything he possibly could about Zim; it was only a matter of time before he would get more than he'd bargained for.

It was his own choice to cling to the alien and he knew it was outrageous, selfish, and perhaps even...morally wrong. Zim was not to be trusted. Leaving him to the hands of fate was the rational thing to do, and yet Dib would not allow it. He couldn't live his life in good conscience having done nothing.

What a goddamned shit show, he thought bitterly.

-x-

It was hours still until Zim gave any further indication of consciousness aside from tremors and some indistinct muttering.

Dib was sitting on the floor next to him, staring straight ahead and lost in thought, when he detected a vague stirring from the corner of his eye.

Poking out from beneath his heavy head, one long antenna twitched a little, trying to pick up vibrations from around the room.